The present invention relates to bicycle carriers and more particularly to a fork block and wheel tray used to secure a bicycle on a roof rack.
With the growing popularity of bicycling as a recreational activity, vehicles are often equipped with racks to transport bicycles. Such racks come in many different styles and configurations. One common configuration is a roof rack in which one or more bicycles are mounted to a pair of crossbars that extend across the top of the vehicle.
Various systems have been developed to secure and stabilize bicycles on vehicle-mounted crossbars. One such system utilizes a fork block mounted to one of the bars with a skewer extending therethrough to receive and grip the front forks of a bicycle. Typically, a wheel tray extends from the fork block to the other crossbar to receive the rear tire of the bicycle. In a slight variation, a short wheel tray is attached to only one crossbar to receive the rear wheel. One limitation of this variation is that the rear wheel must be substantially centered over the crossbar to avoid creating excess torque on the short wheel tray and/or crossbar. This limitation can be a problem where the crossbars cannot be positioned on the vehicle to accommodate the wheel base of a particular bicycle, or where it is desirable to carry bicycles with different wheel bases.
In addition to meeting the basic physical requirements of mounting a bicycle on a vehicle, it is also important for a rack to permit the bicycle to be locked on to prevent unauthorized removal. In systems utilizing fork blocks, this is usually accomplished by providing a lock associated with the skewer to prevent the skewer from being opened. Existing lock designs are either unnecessarily complex or not sufficiently secure.
With existing bicycle racks, a single control is generally provided for each connection between the bicycle and the rack. A user manipulates the control to selectively secure or release a particular portion of the bicycle. Unfortunately, the control is not always positioned for easy access and manipulation by the user.